NunEssential

One of the parents at our school is asking that everyone pray for the recovery of her niece Shannon who was seriously injured in a diving accident last weekend. Please graciously keep this young woman and her family in your prayers Thank you- From Linda: We need to ramp up the prayers. My niece Shannon is not improving yet. She has been in a coma since last Sunday and tonight we were told that a miracle is needed to keep her system from shutting down. The Dr. gave Shannon a 5% chance to live. We need prayers. Would you please forward this request and www.getwellshannon.com to as many people as you can and request that they in turn pass it on to others.

In a world of overpaid, overindulged and pampered athletes, I just had to share the story of this beautiful woman with you. 16-June-2008 -- Catholic News Agency Heroic Polish Athlete Dies to Save Life of Unborn Child Rome, Jun 16, 2008 (CNA).- Thousands of Poles lined up to say their final goodbyes to Agata Mroz, a young volleyball star who died on June 4 after postponing a bone marrow transplant in order to allow her daughter to be born. At the age of 17, Agata was diagnosed with leukemia. She battled the disea se and ended up becoming one of the top athletes in Poland, winning the European Volleyball Championship twice with her country’s team. She joined the professional volleyball team CAV in Murcia, Spain, where she also led the team to title wins. Her struggle against leukemia forced her to take a sabbatical year during which she received many blood transfusions. Thousands of Poles donat...

These photos are from the Mass at Yankee Stadium

Here's a little clip our Sisters took of the Pope on 5th Avenue during his recent trip to New York City!

The Holy Father's visit to the U.S. was fabulous. Some of our Sisters went to New City to see the Holy Father and attend the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium. They returned filled with joy and excitement. I will be posting photos of their trip soon. Until then, here is an article about the Holy Father meeting with the Youth and Religious in New York. We love you Pope Benedict XVI!

Wishing all of you continued Easter Blessings. We know that wherever sin abounds, grace abounds. Even out of dire situations, God can bring something good. One of our friends, a young priest suffering from Stage 4 cancer, shared some very interesting insights with us the other day. From his own experience he was sharing that "God protect me" is not the highest form of prayer. He has found in his own suffering that "Lord, may Your will be done in my life" is the highest form of prayer. He shared that we really are in the hand of God, that we might think we are young and healthy, etc. but our lives are really in the hand of God. From this priests' suffering many blessings are flowing. Just being in his presence is powerful, as if you can feel the grace coming from him. It was deeply moving. Let us keep looking for the good in our lives and all the ways that God blesses us, especially in this Easter Season, every day.

We just a had a birthday celebration here for some of our Sisters and were joined by about 30 of our closest friends and we all had a wonderful time. Friends are a great gift from God. They encourage us, challenge us and just their presence can make life a whole lot easier. So here's to friends! God bless all of you.

On behalf of the SOLT Sisters, we wish you a very Happy and Holy Easter. May the peace of the Risen Christ truly penetrate your heart and overflow into your daily life and onto all those whom you meet. The Resurrection of Jesus is truly the Good News. It's the News that tells us we don't have to remain in the darkness of sin, that suffering is redemptive, that a new day always dawns and eternal life with Jesus is a gift for all. Jesus didn't promise that following Him wouldn't be difficult, but He did promise us that He would be with us always even until the end of time. We see in Him our sufferings and struggles and His victory over sin and death is truly a victory that has a profound effect on our day to day lives, if only we let it. May the Light of this Easter encourage you to continue on your path of oneness with Jesus, knowing that He is with you and gives you His peace. Happy Easter! :)

Here's an encouraging thought from St. Francis: “ Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving God who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. God will either shield you from suffering or will give you the unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.” Happy Lent! St. Francis de Sales

While I am not advocating Dove products nor any companies they may support, I think this commercial is very telling of the beauty industry--wherein they take an average looking girl and transform her with makeup and computer editing to appear "perfect." Every single image that appears in a magazine has been digitally altered, yet no one tells women this fact. Consequently, women and girls can suffer terrible self-esteem problems when they see that don't look like society's "ideal women" who, quite frankly, does not exist.

Here is Pope Benedict's Message for Ash Wednesday

So here we in the season of Lent. Often times Lent is referred to in a rather negative way, insofar as it is a time of giving things up and going without. And while, yes, this can be difficult at sometimes (okay, a lot of times) we really need Lent. We need time to get away from all the things we make idols of and all the ways we don't see ourselves as we truly are. It seems like we sell out to the world often, trading our true dignity and being for illusion and darkness. Is there someone in your life that you really struggle to get along with? Someone that you talk about a lot or gossip about? Those situations can be tough. We turn negative and blame these people for robbing us of our happiness, self-esteem and "virtue." Or perhaps certain people get on our nerves and we say to ourselves, "That person is negative, all she does is complain and gossip." I would say, let us look at ourselves. People, for the most part, are incapable of robbing us of our happiness ...

Lent is upon us already! Wow! This will be an intense time of allowing Jesus to take us into the desert to speak to our hearts. We have been wounded in so many ways and we turn to so many things for relief instead of the One who is the ultimate Healer. May your Lent be fruitful, peaceful and hope-filled. God bless you! Read Pope Benedict's Lenten Message for 2008 here

Part II of an excerpt from Fr. Ogie's day of Recollection talk: " Life and love co-exist, these are two inseparable realities. Out of His love comes our life, our God lives and loves. Love is giving and receiving. There is often a lack of definition of love- people confuse love with attraction, possession or using. But love is giving and receiving. Jesus' life-giving act is an act of perfect love. Jesus reunites us with God through His love and through God's love we receive life and become reunited with God once again. To be united we must give. The opposite of love is selfishness, where we don't give but keep on asking. How do we have life to its fullness? By living and loving. We can keep on "doing" because we love. Love must be our motivation to keep on living and living is our motivation to love. It is here that we find happiness, in spite of pain and struggles we still find fulfillment. This is what God wants by His grace, that we become fully alive....

Here's an interesting take on the life of Pope Benedict XVI, some beautiful footage, not so sold on the commentary....

I came across this little reflection that was given to us in Rome by Fr. Rogel Rosalinas, SOLT (who is now the General Superior for the Priests in our community). This was taken from a day of reflection that Father led about 7 years ago. He says, "There is dulling routine going in today's society, even in religious life. Jesus says, 'I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.' Things becoming boring when they are not rooted in Christ, who is Life. Because of this boredom, people are being led by evil just to do something. People are searching for the meaning of life. They are searching and saying "what is the meaning of my life?" To enjoy life to the fullest, it must be rooted in Christ. Our God is a God of life, He sent Jesus to be a source of new life. Many times we become imprisoned and blinded by the pain and suffering in our present lives, we often get so disturbed that we lose hope and stop growing and we feel that there will be no ...

It's always rather sobering and makes one reflect on their own life when the Holy Father speaks of something being at an "emergency level". I think it would be difficult for people in the world today to say, if they really reflected upon it, that life is the same as it always has been. Yes, humans throughout the centuries have always had the same basic struggles and so therefore many of the same problems that we face today in 2008. However, it seems to me, that people seem to be sensing that a decisive time is upon us. Somehow it seems like the things that are happening are very serious in the world and in no other time has Our Blessed Mother appeared so often, as she appearing in various parts of the world, even to this day. Her message is one of conversion, prayer, going to Confession, receiving the Eucharist worthily and offering sacrifices and penances for others still mired in the darkness. Hmm....not something that will be on CNN anytime soon. As Lent approaches, th...

Hmm.... seems like the folks over at La Sapienza University in Rome might want to re-examine the meaning of word sapienza... We would gladly accept a visit from the beloved Holy Father here in Seattle! :) in the meantime, they will be in my prayers.... Full text here

Oiy! For those of you waiting for some video of the Profession of Vows in Seattle, I am having a wee bit o' trouble since the video of the homily of the Archbishop is too big a file for youtube and google. So I will keep you posted on its' debut soon! ;) Sr. Miriam